The
great Chinese traveller and scholar monk, Xuanzang, was a student at
Nalanda and subsequently became a teacher of the ancient Nalanda
Mahavihara. He recorded a vivid account of life in this great centre of
learning in the 7th century AD.

During
a visit to China in the 1950’s, Ven. Kashyapji had the opportunity to
meet the Premier Zhou-en-lai with whom he discussed the possibility of
the Chinese Government giving some of the physical relics of Xuanzang,
said to have been carefully preserved in Buddhist shrines in China for
over 13 centuries, to Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. On January
12, 1957,
Pandit Jawarlal Nehru, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, on behalf of
the Government of India, received the relics of Xuanzang from His
Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama of Tibet in a function at
the Mahavihara, along with a cheque for the construction of a Xuanzang
memorial at Nalanda. The relics, which will be enshrined in this hall
are currently preserved in the PatnaMuseum,
in Patna.
Nava
Nalanda Mahavihara
has prepared a detailed plan for the development of Xuanzang Memorial
Hall, which includes the following:

1.
Development of the hall as a memorial with an exhibition and texts to
highlight the life and work of Xuanzang.

2.
Establishment of a Centre for Mahayana Studies, which would include
Chinese, Japanese, Korean Mongolian comparative studies in Buddhism,
with future plans to add comparative studies of other religious
traditions.

3.Development of a Meditation Centre, for the practice of patipatti or
applied Buddhism.

4.Development of a small Cultural Village in the surrounding 52 acres
of land in order to highlight important places and incidents connected
with the life and teaching of the Buddha, and to present ancient Indian
culture from the time of the Buddha and the spread of Buddhism to
Southeast Asia, and East Asia.

Implementation
of these projects began in 2001.

ANCIENT RUINS

Ancient
Nalanda has been described by King Yashovarman in the 7th
century AD as ‘rows of monasteries with their series of turrets
licking the clouds’. The ruins, which today are spread out over 14
hectares, are comprised of a large caitya, 11 monasteries and 5 temples.
The site is open daily to visitors.

NALANDA
MUSEUM

A
museum is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, which houses
the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara seal, stone and bronze sculptures from
the 8th -10th centuries, Pala dynasty, and other
remains excavated from the site. The museum is open Saturday through
Thursday.

PATNA

Patna,
the state capital of Bihar,
situated on the banks of the Ganga,
is a major entry point for pilgrims wishing to travel in the footsteps
of the Buddha. Bihar
derives its name from vihara, meaning Buddhist monastery, as
there were once a number of Buddhist monasteries in Bihar.
Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda and Vaishali are the main sights connected
with the Buddha in Bihar.

The
PatnaMuseum
contains stone sculptures dating back to the Mauryan, Gupta and Pala
periods. A portion of the relics, found in Vaishali is also in the
museum.

Patna
is connected by air, rail and road to Calcutta,
Delhi,
Mumbai and Varanasi.

RAJGIR

The
Buddha spent 12 years in Rajgir, the ancient capital of Magadha.
The first Buddhist council was also held here. Rajgir is 100 kms from Patna
and 11 kms from Nalanda by road.

PRACTICALITIES

Getting to NalandaNalanda
is 90 kms from Patna
by road. Private and State Transport buses leave for Biharsharif every
ten minutes and pass through Nalanda on the way to Gaya.
Tempos and taxis are available from Biharsharif. There is one train from
Delhi-Nalanda, 2401/2402 Shramjeevi Express. Many other trains come to Patna.
The Institute is 3 kms from the Nalanda Train station.

Climate Thebest
time to come to Nalanda is between October and April. During the winter
from mid-December to the end of January temperatures can range from 2-3
to 15 C (35-60 F). The summer months of May and June are hot and the
temperature can rise as high as 46 C (115 F). Monsoon arrives toward the
end of June.